Appeals court: Local jurisdictions can say no to pot shops

Author and travel expert Rick Steves is a proponent of ending the ban on marijuana. He pointed out that in Europe, where "a joint is about as interesting as a can of beer," regulators take a much more compassionate tone.

Media: Cheddar TV

A Washington State Court of Appeals panel ruled Tuesday that local jurisdictions have the legal authority to ban sales of marijuana.

It was the first appellate court ruling in what has been a contentious issue around the state. Judges in five trial court cases have ruled likewise, agreeing with a 2014 opinion by Attorney General Bob Ferguson.

While Washington law "permits the retail sale of marijuana," the appellate court said in the case of Emerald Enterprises v. Clark County, "it does not grant retailers an affirmative right to sell marijuana."

Washington became one of the first two states in America to legalize, regulate and tax recreational marijuana when it passed Initiative 502 in 2012. Colorado was the other.

An employee displays trimmed bud from a high-CBD hemp strain at Ambary Gardens in Kittredge, Colorado, on March 9, 2016. Arvada, Colorado, has approved a hemp-growing operation for cultivation of CBD oil, a surprising move as Arvada has declined to license recreational or medical marijuana shops. less

An employee displays trimmed bud from a high-CBD hemp strain at Ambary Gardens in Kittredge, Colorado, on March 9, 2016. Arvada, Colorado, has approved a hemp-growing operation for cultivation of CBD oil, a ... more

Photo: Seth McConnell, Getty Images

Photo: Seth McConnell, Getty Images

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An employee displays trimmed bud from a high-CBD hemp strain at Ambary Gardens in Kittredge, Colorado, on March 9, 2016. Arvada, Colorado, has approved a hemp-growing operation for cultivation of CBD oil, a surprising move as Arvada has declined to license recreational or medical marijuana shops. less

An employee displays trimmed bud from a high-CBD hemp strain at Ambary Gardens in Kittredge, Colorado, on March 9, 2016. Arvada, Colorado, has approved a hemp-growing operation for cultivation of CBD oil, a ... more

Photo: Seth McConnell, Getty Images

Appeals court: Local jurisdictions can say no to pot shops

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"I have said from the beginning: If the Legislature or the drafters of Initiative 502 had intended to require local jurisdictions to allow the sale of recreational marijuana, they could have done so in a single sentence," said Ferguson. "They did not."

The marijuana trade has boomed in coastal counties of Southwest Washington. But populous Clark County has banned pot shops in unincorporated areas. Several cities in the county, including Vancouver, allow marijuana businesses.

The local pre-emption has a strategic justification, as noted Tuesday by the AG's office. Local governments, including Clark County, that have banned marijuana shops have indicated that if I-502 requires that they allow pot shops, they will challenge the initiative and argue that it is pre-empted by federal law.

The threat can be avoided if courts continue to uphold local authority over whether to allow marijuana sales.

Columnist Joel Connelly has written about politics for the P-I since 1973.